KHOURI FAVOUR AS BOSS HAILS BIG WIN FOR MERRY MARINERS

By Andrew Settle

COLCHESTER U 1

Edwards 51

COLCHESTER: Macey 7, Hunt 6 (Vincent-Young 84, 6), Flanagan

Subs not used: 85) Taylor 6. Subs not used: Smith, Tucker. Eastwood, McJannet, Burns, Turi. Att: 6,986 Rating: ★★★★★ Ref: Charles Breakspear 6/10

GRIMSBY TOWN 2

Green 46, Khouri 76

GRIMSBY: Wright 6, Warren 6, Tharme 7, Rodgers 7, McEachran 6, Kelleher 6 (Simpson 84, 6), Egbo 6, Read 7 (Scully 89), Mc7 (Thompson 88), Hume 7, Svanthorsson 7, Khouri 8, Green 7 Donnell 8, Edwards 7, Payne 7, Anderson 6 (Gordon 27, 6; Thorn (Davies 77, 6), Barrington 7 (Luker 89) Rose 7.

DAVID Artell felt his Grimsby side fully deserved their Friday night victory at fellow play-off hopefuls Colchester.

Evan Khouri scored Grimsby’s winner having earlier set up Kieran Green for the opener. Owura Edwards equalised for Colchester in between.

Artell said: “It’s obviously a big win. Colchester are the form team in the division.

“We’ve gone to the top of the league and beaten them and now we’ve gone to the form team and deservedly beat them.

“Colchester are a good team, make no bones about it. They play with intensity, tempo and have some good players, but so have we and I thought we stood up to all their threats.

“If anything, I thought we should have won the game by more.”

Khouri screwed wide from Luca Barrington’s pass for the Mariners in one of few chances in the first half.

But the Mariners went ahead with the second half barely 30 seconds old.

Khouri crossed from the byline and Green was on hand to bundle the ball over the line from close range.

Colchester equalised in the 51st minute when former Grimsby loanee Owura Edwards collected Jack Payne’s pass on the edge of the area before planting a left-foot shot into the net off the far post.

Grimsby goalkeeper Jordan Wright tipped over Arthur Read’s rasping 20-yard strike while, at the other end, Matt Macey made a fine reflex save to foil Harvey Rogers’ first-time effort as both sides searched for a winner.

Macey made another good stop to deny Barrington, but Khouri scored the winner when he clinically fired in from Barrington’s pass after Tom Flanagan’s error.

It was Colchester’s second straight defeat and boss Danny Cowley admitted: “Grimsby were the better team. They outplayed us and their style on this surface was very effective. “We have to accept that we didn’t get to our levels, particularly in the second half.

“It’s so frustrating for us and it’s so hard to have got the team into this position – there were nearly 7,000 people here.

“We haven’t used excuses to this point and if we want to be weak we can moan about the pitch for sure but we’ve had our success from being strong and resolute and by being determined and by outplaying the pitch.”